The head of Mercedes-Benz has called for a delay to post-Brexit rules that would introduce tougher tariffs on goods coming into and out of the UK and Europe from next year, saying Europe’s car supply chain is not yet self-sufficient to meet stricter tariffs. purchase requirements.
The German carmaker’s chief executive, Ola Källenius, said it was “premature” to introduce tariff rules in a post-Brexit trade deal in January 2024 aimed at encouraging more local sourcing of car parts .
Under these so-called rules of origin, electric cars exported between the UK and the EU would need to have 45% of their components sourced in those two regions to avoid the 10% tariff.
Källenius joined other European automakers in lobbying for a delay, including Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares, who on Tuesday called for a phased-in date to be pushed back to 2027, warning that the current timetable would be a “double challenge” for both the EU and Britain. lose” situation.
“Since the capacity of the European battery industry is not enough, demanding rules of origin pose a major challenge to the competitiveness of our industry,” Conlinson said at the inauguration of a battery manufacturing plant in northern France, one of four. The first car battery plant planned in the region.
The factory will supply Mercedes’ electric vehicles and is part of its battery partnerships with TotalEnergies and Stellantis – a step in the right direction towards establishing an independent European car manufacturing industry at a time when the region is Trying to get out of the woods Chinese and Asian batteries dominate, Källenius added.
“But all in all, 1 January 2024 is too early. We need more time to make this transition, so we want to provide political support on this issue together with our UK partners,” Källenius said.
The looming deadline and backlash from automakers underscore the scale of the challenge for Europe to catch up with Chinese and South Korean battery makers, key suppliers to global electric car makers.
Mercedes’ joint venture with Stellantis and Total, called Automotive Cells Co, or ACC, will start up this year at a plant in Douvrin, northern France, with an initial capacity of 13 GW/h. By 2030, two more factories are expected to open in Germany and Italy, with the ultimate goal of supplying 2 million batteries per year.
These are one of a handful of similar projects the automaker is trying to make headway across Europe, many supported by state subsidies. The French minister said on Tuesday that government support would help make local production more competitive with Asian or U.S.-made alternatives.
They also tout the lower carbon footprint of European factories, which will increase the appeal of products to automakers trying to comply with increasingly stringent emissions rules.
But battery supply and production are currently constrained and dependent on Asia, just as automakers are already racing to try and outdo each other with new electric models.
Tavares said there was an emerging consensus that 2027 would be a reasonable phased-in date for the new tariff rules.
It could be a further blow to Britain’s struggling car industry, not least because Stellantis, the group behind Vauxhall, has also threatened to close its factory in Ellesmere Port, England, unless the tariffs are renegotiated.
“It’s a technical adjustment that shouldn’t cause too much trouble,” Tavares said Tuesday when asked about delaying the phased implementation until 2027. ). It is in the interest of both parties to change the date since both parties will lose from it. “